The killer's identity

tom wasn't a blackmailer.cable made it clear that he killed tom out of paranoia,because just knowing that tom knew about the killing had become unbearable for cable.

Tom Grunneman represents Klute's theme that totally intentional acts can lead to events not readily anticipated.

From this missing person case a veritable Pandora's Box is opened.

KLUTE is not a mystery. Peter Cable is the only character in the movie with the means, method and opportunity to have killed all 3 of the characters.

Peter Cable kills himself not out of remorse but out of fear of embarrassement.

Remember he says, "I am an important man, i have a position to maintain."

Yes, Klute failed in his professional mission in the narrow sense but he saves Bree's life.

I agree. Peter Cable should have killed both Bree and Aryln by the middle of the film, and the rest of the show should just have Klute connecting the pieces together, with Cable telling the dick where and why he killed Tom G.


I never go out with guys who sing opera!

I think you're putting Cable in a postion of more intelligence than he deserves. He's obviously a rather sick puppy and was caught redhanded in his activities. As he said in the climax, he thought that Tom would use his perversion to his own advantage and panicked, killing Tom. That obviously meant the girl had to go too. Cable's pretty convinced that he won't be discovered as the cause of Tom's disapperance (who would expect the suburban executive?) so he continues his other pasttimes of stalking, obscene letter writing and "breather calls", all while the cops conveniently think they're being committed by Tom.

This seems to be a failsafe arrangement and Cable's confident that Tom's best friend, some policeman named Klute, won't come to any more incriminating conclusion. However when this policeman turned private detective contacts one of the letter recieving callgirls by the name of Bree (an unexpected twist!), he gets closer and closer to Cable's secret truth. Cable once again panics and decides to eliminate all connections to his original crime, including killing another callgirl who had been in his company named Arlyn. He also ransacks Bree's appartment, perhaps to scare her out of cooperation with Klute; however he makes one fatal mistake: semen has blood types in it!

From this Klute deduces that since the bodily fluid is not of his friend's blood type, Tom is not behind the stalking. So where are the letters and such coming from? In a bold move Klute calls for an analysis of all possible suspects' typewriting styles. There's one match to the obscene letters: Cable.

Cable knows he's in deep s**t now and Klute knows he knows. Klute cunningly manipulates Cable into thinking that the incriminating piece of evidence is actually an adress book that had belonged to Arlyn. Klute knows that he'll be able to catch Cable when he tries to intervene, which he undoubtedly will. As a result of a personal altercation between Klute and Bree (by this point they have developed a bit of a relationship), Klute isn't present when Cable makes his move, making it a rather suspenseful moment. Deciding to inform Bree just why he's killing her before he does so he tells the story behind Tom's initial disappearance (he murdered him). Cable is mid-strangle when Klute finally rushes in and in yet another panic, Cable jumps through a window.

The ending regarding Bree and Klute's relationship might be better saved for another thread (I myself accidently started one=]).

Cable was just a pervert, not a scheming genius. His efforts to cover up the crime, just like the crime itself, were reckless and miscalculated. But just as a scheming genius, which Cable probably considered himself, he thought his efforts were enough to keep from getting caught. Obviously he was wrong.

Wow that was way longer than I intended it to be, sorry.


"I never dreamed that any mere physical experience could be so stimulating!" -The African Queen